About Diabetes & Obesity

Diabetes is a group of metabolic disorders that hamper the body's ability to produce or respond to the hormone insulin resulting in high blood sugar levels over a prolonged period. Type 1 diabetes results from the pancreas's failure to produce enough insulin. Type 2 diabetes begins with insulin resistance, a condition in which cells fail to respond to properly to insulin. Both type 1 and 2 diabetes results in long-term complications encompassing cardiovascular disease, stroke, chronic kidney disease, foot ulcers and damage to the eyes. Acute complications can include diabetic ketoacidosis (a high and dangerous level of acids called ketones in the blood), hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (high level of blood sugars that can cause coma) or death. As of 2012, there are 29.3 million Americans, or 9.35% of the population suffering from diabetes, up from .93% in 1958 and 4.7% in 1980. There are also currently 79 million Americans that are considered insulin resistant. Internationally, over 380 million people suffer from diabetes. One reason for the sharp rise in diabetes in the U.S. has been the dramatic rise in obesity.

Obesity has become a major health issue in recent decades, resulting in diseases such as coronary heart disease, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes. The U.S. has one of the world's highest rates of obesity. In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 35.7% of American adults were obese and 17% of American children. Obesity has been cited as a contributing factor in approximately 100,000-400,000 deaths a year and direct and indirect costs to society of $117 billion, which exceeds the healthcare costs of tobacco, and accounts for 6-12% of national healthcare expenditures in the U.S. According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 500 million severely overweight or obese people.